Can Foxconn Really Pull 7 Million Gallons Daily From Lake Michigan?

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources just approved Foxconn Technology Group manufacturing plant to pull 7 millions of gallons of water daily from Lake Michigan to serve their new plant. FOX 2 reports that the $10 billion flat-screen plant, which will reside in Mount Pleasant, WI is expected to start being built within weeks.

According to the application sent by the city which was approved yesterday,  about 2.7 million gallons will be consumed daily by plant operations and evaporation. The rest of the water will be treated and returned back into the lake.

Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters Executive Director Kerry Schumann expressed his distaste for the deal:

This diversion is an unprecedented betrayal of the Great Lakes Compact. The (Foxconn) developers chose Mount Pleasant because it is a straddling community, which allows them to avoid scrutiny by Great Lakes states and Canadian provinces. Those states and provinces designed the compact to protect that water from raids just like this one.

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The Great Lakes Compact is an agreement made between the Great Lakes states, Ontario and Quebec that prohibits diverting water from the lakes' basin. However, cities like Mount Pleasant that are around the basin boundary can withdraw Great Lakes water for public use. Clean Wisconsin, an Environmental group said in a news release that the withdrawal from lake michigan clearly won't be used for public purposes and the organization is looking into the matter to find a resolve. Spokesman Jonathan Drewsen said that could include filing a lawsuit.

So does that mean that this may be an illegal act to pull the water?

Conservationists pointed out Foxconn has a poor environmental record in China and Japan and pulling water from the lake for a corporation would violate the Great Lakes Compact.

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